Killingsworth named Woodstock Academy football coach

Clay Killingsworth was on hand for the first football game played on the new turf field at the Bentley Athletic Complex this past fall when Woodstock Academy hosted Norwich Free Academy.

Marc Allard

WOODSTOCK — Clay Killingsworth was on hand for the first football game played on the new turf field at the Bentley Athletic Complex this past fall when Woodstock Academy hosted Norwich Free Academy.

He just happened to be on the visiting side of the field as a member of Jemal Davis’ coaching staff.
But Killingsworth’s emotions were a bit torn last September. He had been a finalist for the Woodstock Academy head coach’s position earlier in the year, but Killingly High School assistant Jesse Pimental was hired instead.

“It was a disappointment, but I went back to NFA, went to clinics, and continued to learn,” Killingsworth said.
Pimental resigned in January after just one season because of family issues and Killingsworth tried again.

On Monday afternoon, he was proud to don a Woodstock Academy cap as the third head football coach of the Centaurs in the last four years.

The first person he called to inform he had been hired was Davis, a man whom he had started working with eight years ago in Woodstock after Davis had been named the first head coach in the program’s history.

“(Davis) said that it was a natural progression and he was excited for me and was ready to see what I could do here,” Killingsworth said.

It was the perseverance on Killingsworth’s behalf that attracted Woodstock Academy athletic director Aaron Patterson and the search committee put together to find a new football coach.

“He has the right attitude, the right mindset, he’s from the (Eastern Connecticut Conference),” Patterson said. “When we were looking for someone for this job, we were looking at two things: an outstanding coach and one who could bring consistency to the program.”

The Centaurs program went 0-10 last season and is just 6-34 over the last four years. But Killingsworth quickly pointed out that NFA wasn’t exactly a state-championship caliber team when Davis took over the Wildcats six years ago and brought Killingsworth with him as the special teams coordinator.

“The first years at NFA were a struggle,” Killingsworth said. “Coach Davis, myself and the other coaches put in a lot of hours.”

But it was something that wasn’t dictated by the X’s and O’s that led NFA to a Class LL state semifinal berth three years ago and a state championship game last season. It was what happened off the field in the offseason. NFA developed its strength and conditioning program which paid huge dividends on the field. It’s a philosophy that the 33-year-old Killingsworth, who lives in Canterbury, will now try to instill in Woodstock.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s just the strength and conditioning program, I think it’s building the team in the weight room,” Killingsworth said.

There will be “other” activities as well as the weight room, team-building activities, according to Killingsworth because he said to change the habit of losing, he has to have a team that believes — just ask Woodstock Academy basketball coach Greg Smith. Patterson was still sporting a “We Believe” Woodstock Academy T-shirt that many students, faculty, parents and fans were wearing at the Class L boys basketball championship game.

“That has inspired us more than anything, seeing what that team did, how they came together as a team and did things the way they did it, inspires all of us to try and do our best and go for the same goal,” said Billy Harrington who will be a senior this fall on the Centaurs football team.

Woodstock Academy will also be helped by the ECC’s decision to allow it to move back into the Small Division in football for the next two years.

“Mr. Patterson and the administration want it to be something special here and that stood out to me, because I’m interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing me to see if this is the right fit,” Killingsworth said. “I believe this is a good opportunity.”

The hiring of Killingsworth by Woodstock leaves just one football vacancy in the area. St. Bernard/Norwich Tech has yet to name a head coach for the coming season.

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